Being Poor is Expensive !!

I called my bank the other day about a transaction that I needed done and was told the price was going to be $42.00. The price seemed pretty fair for what I needed till he said one moment Mrs. Latte I see here that you are a premium customer so therefore the price will be $9.50. While I’m ecstatic to save myself $32.50, it brings up the question - What exactly makes me a premium customer? I wasn’t applying for a loan or anything that had to do with me having my credit pulled, so the status must have been brought on by past experiences with me and the size of my accounts with them.

Do poor people really pay extra for different things?Well I could start with the biggest examples of poor people paying out the rear but I think I’ll start with the smaller, less-thought-about things and the move on up:

Check cashing places, cash call loans, money orders, collection agencies and bounced check fees.

So the bank works in a particular way- You write a check for $20, they cash the check based on your balance- Now if you write a check with an insufficient balance they charge you $32.00. Some banks give you a week to pay it if not you get charged another $32 now a 20 buck check has run you up a $84.00 debt then if your account is shut down now you have to go pay court costs,collection charges which brings your $20 shortage of funds to a whopping 200.00. Now if while you are waiting for your next paycheck you have an unexpected emergency and need a payday loan- of course it isn’t free so now they charge you for that. PayDay loans are known to carry exorbitant fees in excess of 99%. And that’s being kind.
Along with being poor usually comes bad credit or okay credit with not enough money to fix it and that often means higher rates on credit cards, mortgages, insurance rates to requiring deposits on a rental car. Being poor cost money!!

Job
Think about it, if you’re poor that means you either have no job or a menial job in which you have little control around your schedule, pay rate/grade and duties/responsibilities. You are often at the beck and call of a disconnected scheduler who may give you a schedule that may interfere with other oligations such as picking up your child from the daycare on time which then costs you upwards of $5 per minute, per child if you’re late. If you have no job then you are stressed about how you will pay the rent, mortgage, utilities and put food on the tale. Stress leads to other things like a decline in your overall health and well being.

Health and Health care
When you are already stressed out about barely making ends meet, this brings along with it health related stressors such as ulcers, heart disease (you don’t exactly have the money to shop for healthier, and more costly food options), high blood pressure and other chronic disorders brought on by the daily stresses of worrying about money.

Furthermore, one of the more obvious ways that people pay more for being poor is through their health, often not being able to afford proper health care or dental care and even dying of simple treatable diseases mentioned above. When you’re up all night stressing about a possible eviction, you arent exactly thinking about going for your yearly checkup which could tell you more about your recent bouts with shortness of breath and high cholesterol.

Silver Lining
However, being poor will force someone to make needed changes in in their attitudes towards money. For some this can be a motivator which inspires them to go back to school, seek a part time job, ask for a raise and overhaul their spending habits altogether. So if you happen to be in a bad predicament where you’re finances are concerned, there’s help available. But it starts with you and your attitude towards money. Do you control it or does it control you? Being poor is expensive, think about it!

Most Commented Posts

• Cooking at Home with Basic Kitchen Staples Saves You Money
• 8 Frugal and Cost Cutting Tips for the Newly Independent
• Gas Prices On The Rise To $5/Gallon: How Will You Cope?
• Things That Piss Me Off: Food stamp recipients pinched by high food prices